The joy of the Lord is your strength.
Lately my heart has been heavy over the wars and violence in our world. In the midst of a world that seems turned upside down, what is most needed?
When I recently took this question to prayer, the answer surprised me. The world needs more joy. I need more joy. But where can we find this joy? Saint Paul reinforces our Christian calling to be joyful in his letter to the Thessalonians:
Rejoice always. Pray constantly. Give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you (1 Thes 5:16-18).
Saint Paul’s words are clear and concise, but that doesn’t mean joy always comes easily to us. All of us face struggles in life.
We encounter illnesses, financial problems, family wounds. We may suffer as we see our spouses or children stray from the faith. We become hopeless as we hear about the various sufferings in the world. We can feel helpless to make a difference in our lives, in the lives of those we love, and in the world as a whole.
These issues can cause us to experience great anguish, but in his letter to the Romans, Saint Paul reminds us to rejoice in hope and be patient in the face of tribulation (Rm 12:12). The prophet Nehemiah reminds us that the joy of the Lord is our strength (Neh 8:10).
He doesn’t say exercise is your strength. He doesn’t say work, success, or power is your strength. He doesn’t say that your strength is in your ability to muscle through adversity, to “grin and bear it.” He says the joy of the Lord is your strength. Human joy alone is not our strength. We cannot simply decide to be joyful and become strong in this way. Rather, the joy that is in God is our strength.
When all else is gone, we can run on the joy of the Lord. Our own joy is fickle. I may be full of joy today, but tomorrow it seems to go away. We think we will be joyful when things go our way.
Jesus puts joy into our hearts, but we are responsible for creating the conditions to receive joy. Just like a seed needs certain conditions to grow and bear fruit, so does joy require a certain condition of the heart.
We think we could have joy if only we got that promotion, if only that wayward family member came back to the Church, if only there was an end to war and violence. We make our joy conditional, but the joy of the Lord is never conditional. The only way we can receive an indestructible deep-down joy is to find it in Christ. Jesus is the giver of joy. By the power of the Holy Spirit, he puts joy in our hearts.
In order to experience true joy, we need to let go of anxiety and avoid cynicism. Joy and anxiety cannot live together. They are opposed to each other. We live in an anxious time, but our joy can only be found in God and not the circumstances of life.
The circumstances of our life will ebb and flow. Change is a constant flowing sea, but Christ is our calm in the storm. Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever. Cast your anxieties on him and trust that he will take care of everything.
Cynicism causes us to put up a protective shell around ourselves. We can begin to fixate on all that is wrong in the world, in others, and even ourselves and dismiss it altogether. But as followers of Jesus we are asked to view life another way. Can we try to notice all the good God is doing in our lives and the lives of others?
Saint Paul tells us,Whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is gracious, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things (Phil 4:8).
Don’t allow cynicism to kill your joy. Often in very small things, we begin to lose the joy that is our gift. But when we allow ourselves to see the small moments where we find truth, honor, justice, purity, loveliness, graciousness, and excellence as moments of encounter with Christ, we draw closer to joy. We encounter Christ in countless places.
As the seed of joy takes root in our hearts, we become missionaries of joy — bringing the joy of the Lord into the lives of those around us. The joy of the Lord will truly become our strength. We will run and not grow weary (Is 40:31).
Fr. Michael was our parish priestwhen we had a mission house inMagadan, Russia.
[Blossoms at St. Mary’s, Combermere, by ©Beth Scott, Madonna House.]
